Silent Acacia instantly summoned his loyal pet Korn. The nimble winged tiger was naturally more suitable for this environment. Simultaneously drawing his bow Silent Acacia was just about to test his opponent when the assassin vanished on the spot.
Silent Acacia remained calm. He evened his breath and slowly approached the nearest building step by step. With his back close to the wall, his sharp eyes scanned the road. A light breeze added a touch of vitality to the scene, causing a few window shutters to creak. But Silent Acacia wasn't distracted by the faint sound. His focus was entirely on his opponent.
Yet it had to be said that Gege was indeed a highly skilled thief. Thanks to Liam's guidance every member of Hotpot was proficient at catching thieves in stealth. Some more, some less. Silent Acacia, as a professional player, considered himself quite proficient. Yet he was unable to spot Gege.
This was the greatest advantage skilled thieves possessed. Their ability to gain the initiative. They could circle their prey like a seasoned predator, forcing them to get impatient, make mistakes.
But Silent Acacia wouldn't give the opponent an opportunity. He remained vigilant, hardening his mind. He directed Korn to scout the area in an attempt to force Gege out.
Suddenly a chill ran down the young man's spine. A shadow appeared above his head, with lightning dancing around her feet, and her two daggers erupting with sparks. Silent Acacia moved instinctively. He threw his body forward, trying to pull as much distance as possible. With a thought Zorn appeared on the battlefield as a special summon, while Korn returned to put pressure on the opponent.
[Stance -17]
Gege finally revealed herself. The crackling of lighting echoed through the desolate street. Her miss didn't bother the assassin. Her eyes were cold as she waved both of her daggers almost simultaneously.
A bolt of lightning shot out, its bright light nearly obscuring the strange little lightning symbol which followed right behind. Fortunately, Silent Acacia was able to spot both attacks. He realized how great Gege's timing and positioning was. Only one of the two attacks could be dodged.
A decision was made in an instant. Silent Acacia stepped to the left, the bolt of lightning arriving in front of his chest. Compared to the strange symbol, the lightning was at least a known entity.
[-3217!]
Uncomfortable, prickling sensations ran through Silent Acacia's entire body. A debuff was applied. All lightning damage falling on the young man would be doubled.
Up in the audience stands the spectators vented their emotions. The tension which built up for a bit now exploded violently. The battle was an absolute nail-biter. Both combatants moved at incredibly high speed, making decisions within the fraction of a second. All their actions seemed ingrained in their bones.
Silent Acacia's friends watched with bated breath. They of course were confident in the beast tamer. But seeing him being the first to take damage the friends couldn't help but feel some anxiousness.
"He will win!"
This was the steadfast believe of Quickstep in her boyfriend. Only she really knew how much Silent Acacia regretted his results after the last tournament. It was not only the loss itself, but also the feeling of not being able to show one's full potential. Silent Acacia had trained a lot since then. He wanted to shine during the next tournament. And this battle was a great test for him. A battle to validate his efforts.
Silent Acacia narrowed his eyes. Gege's feet erupted with lighting, and she appeared in front of the beast master in a flash. Silent Acacia knew that he couldn't allow the assassin to entangle him. He used the little Fury he had saved up to activate [Agility of the pack].
Korn and Zorn both let out excited cries. They instantly sped up, their movement speed rising by 50%. The same was true for Silent Acacia. Before the first dagger strike could reach him, he lightly tipped his toes against the stone road and pulled away from his opponent. His bow was readied and in one fluid motion an arrow was fired.
[Stance -19]
Gege dodged with a nimble step. The assassin crossed her daggers in front of her chest, activating another skill. However, right at that moment, perfectly timed, a violently spinning sphere of water suddenly crashed into her waist.
[-7834!]
A momentary scrunch of her face. This was all the reaction Gege showed. Although about a fifth of her HP disappeared in an instant, the professional player wouldn't lose their mind. She was confident. Only two more strikes against her opponent and she could definitely take him out!
Silent Acacia was similarly without reaction. His mind was incredibly focused. He had to control Zorn and Korn to achieve perfect cooperation, while he himself naturally didn't dare to lag behind. Suddenly his pupils shook involuntarily. Gege's arms shot forward and let go of her weapons. The two daggers turned into terribly fast projectiles, aiming right for Silent Acacia.
The young man didn't dare to take the hits head-on. Still empowered by [Agility of the pack] he retreated even further along the open street. The daggers missed and embedded themselves into the ground. Just as Silent Acacia raised his bow to retaliate, Gege's figure disappeared.
Silent Acacia's heart shook. He took another step back. The next moment Gege stood next to one of the daggers, her reappearance accompanied by terrifying lightning striking from the sky, spreading on the ground, reaching Silent Acacia's feet.
[-5630!]
Another chunk of Silent Acacia's HP bar got obliterated. Only two hits, and one fourth of his HP were gone. Silent Acacia estimated that the opponent's damage might be roughly at the level of Bloody Edge. It could be seen where GalanTen's confidence came from. They were indeed not much weaker than Hotpot.
However, Silent Acacia was not intimidated. Quite the opposite. His eyes lit up as he saw his chance. Nevers topping his backward motion the beast master suddenly jerked his bow to the side. He didn't aim at Gege's current position. Instead, he aimed at the second dagger.
And just as expected. The next moment Gege appeared at the position of her second dagger, summoning another lightning bolt. This time Silent Acacia was prepared. Multiple attacks almost fused into one. [Mark of Death], the ultimate skill, appeared above Gege's head. [Ensnaring Bite] instantly followed. Gege was unable to escape. The skill placed a second mark on her. Should one of Silent Acacia's pets land a hit on the assassin, she would instantly be stunned, pretty much sealing her fate.
Gege's heart dropped. Their team had analysed all the available information about Hotpot. She naturally knew about Silent Acacia's skills. She recognized the dangerous situation she had landed in.
This battle was fought on thin ice. A small mistake could lead to one's doom. Gege only had to hit Silent Acacia with one more instance of lightning damage. She could activate her ultimate skill, stun the opponent in place, and finish him off easily. Just one more hit!
Gege gritted her teeth, but right now Silent Acacia was the one in the advantageous position. The young man mixed skills with normal attacks, covering his opponent in a frightening hail of arrows. Gege knew of her opponent's skill level. She didn't even need to analyse the path of those arrows to know that it would be impossible to dodge all of them. Thus, she moved according to her instincts, jumping to the right, arriving in a position where only two arrows could hit her.
[Stance -41]
[-6666!]
[-12.693!!!]
A critical hit! Gege felt her stomach drop. However, after Silent Acacia used his ultimate skill, this was not too surprising. The assassin lost almost twenty thousand HP in an instant. She only had ten thousand remaining. Was she destined to lose this battle?
Of course not! Gege would never give up. As an assassin she could burst with immense power. She only needed to get close once!
"Bye!"
Suddenly Silent Acacia's cold voice could be heard. Gege felt warning bells going off in her mind. She suddenly realized that Silent Acacia, Korn, and Zorn had created a triangle formation around her, all three striking simultaneously. When did he do that?! Such amazing control!
Gege didn't dare to freeze. A hit from Korn or Zorn would stun her in place, sealing her fate. Thus, she instantly rushed towards the arrow of Silent Acacia, which was surrounded by the illusionary image of biting beast maws. She knew of this high-damage skill. But it was only a single arrow. She could easily dodge it.
Gege couldn't help but feel a hint of excitement. After Hotpot achieved the dungeon's first clear, the mood among GalanTen was not great. But now she could get the first victory and restore some honour for their team. The assassin's cold eyes lit up as she made a beautiful roll, dodging Silent Acacia's arrow. Sparks erupted from her feet, and she arrived in front of her opponent in an instant.
Lightning played around Gege's daggers. One more hit and she could activate her ultimate skill, dooming Silent Acacia. Her dagger was raised. Silent Acacia lowered his bow. He took a step back, but it was too late. The dagger arrived.